By WMBD TV
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — An incoming member of the Peoria Public Schools Board of Education has filed suit against the district, saying the meeting scheduled Wednesday was not properly noticed to the public.
Andres “Andy” Diaz, who is set to be sworn in as a school board member at that meeting, says the district is really having two meetings. He’s basing that on the posting of two agendas which are contained in the same online file.
One of the meetings is dubbed a general meeting while the other is called a reorganizational meeting.
Diaz in his petition for a temporary restraining order, filed in Peoria County Circuit Court, says “notice of the meeting was deficient as the ‘regular meeting’ is not listed as scheduled on the Board of Education website.”
The issue is that governmental bodies like the school board must give notice of a meeting, usually 48 hours, so people who want to attend will know about it.
The petition also alleges the inclusion of the sales tax proposal which would double a tax for facilities and maintenance from a half-cent to one penny, should not be on the consent agenda.
Items on the consent agenda are usually put there to be passed along with several other things. They are deemed as noncontroversial, for the most part.
“As a school board candidate, I ran on transparency and good government,” Diaz said. “The school board yet again has failed to meet their legal obligations to properly notice meetings and to be transparent with the community.
“Therefore, tonight, I filed a temporary restraining order to stop the actions of this board to move forward on approving a ballot measure to double the county facilities sales tax,” he added.
If Diaz is successful, he could delay a vote on the sales tax which he says must be approved by early August in order to be put on the ballot. But, again, if he’s successful in getting a TRO, it will mean the make up of the board will change as he and Sarah Howard will be the newly sworn-in members.
Diaz insists that it’s not personal, that he’s not trying to obstructionist. Rather, he says it’s about the process not being followed. If you let one thing go, he reasons, worse things can happen because then people are not following state law.
When reached for comment, Jerry Bell, who will assume the job of the district’s superintendent on Wednesday, declined to comment and referred calls to board members such as board president Greg Wilson.
An attempt to reach Wilson was not immediately successful. Calls to other school board members were also not immediately returned.
Peoria Public Schools board to discuss sales tax, leadership roles
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — During a rare afternoon meeting, the Board of Education for Peoria Public Schools will take up key issues on who wields the gavel and whether to ask voters for a half-cent increase in a facilities sales tax.
Those who attend the meeting at the administration building on Wednesday at 12 p.m. will get two meetings for the price of one, so to speak.
The school board will first meet to take care of routine business, such as bills and budgetary matters. It will also discuss whether to double the County School Facility Occupation Tax from a half-cent to one penny.
Newly hired Superintendent Jerry Bell says the idea has the support of many of the public school districts in the area.
In 2024, the last year he had numbers, the district received $5.3 million, or roughly 47% of the countywide tax collected. The next-highest total was $1.9 million, or roughly 17%, collected by the Dunlap School District.
So by doubling the tax, it stands to reason the district would bring in twice as much money, the superintendent said.
Bell said the topic came up this spring when he was still in New York. He participated in a ZOOM call with five or six superintendents who were interested in the plan. So, he thinks the idea has the support of the majority of the districts in the area.
School districts tend to like sales tax proposals because they spread the burden of paying for updates and upgrades among more people than just property owners.
The money, Bell said, can be used for maintenance issues and things like school resource officers and mental health workers, both of which the district already has.
Following the regular meeting, the district will hold its annual reorganization meeting, where they will elect a president and vice president for the board and swear in new elected board members Andres Diaz and Sarah Howard.
WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.
